Friday, June 27, 2014

Press release for things to do on the upcoming holiday. "The City of Toronto encourages residents and visitors to enjoy Canada Day and celebrate Canada's 147th birthday in Toronto on Tuesday, July 1. A City-organized event will be held at North York Civic Centre's Mel Lastman Square and community events will be held across Toronto.

Canada Day celebration at Mel Lastman Square
The City will celebrate Canada Day at Mel Lastman Square on Tuesday, July 1 from 5 to 10:30 p.m. Free face-painting will be available by Picasso Painters from 5 to 8 p.m. Zero Gravity Circus presents its Circus Wonderland featuring aerial acrobats at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. Juno-award-winning singer-songwriter Justin Rutledge performs at 8 p.m., followed by Canadian alternative country band NQ Arbuckle at 9 p.m.The Canada Day celebration at Mel Lastman Square concludes with fireworks by Circus Orange at 10:15 p.m.

East
Scarborough’s 47th annual Canada Day celebration in Thomson Park will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This event will include a free pancake breakfast, buskers, bouncy inflatables, entertainment and a craft show/sale. Seniors can participate in a slo-pitch ball game. More information is available by calling 416-338-1968.

The annual Canada Day parade will begin at 4 p.m. west of the Scarborough Civic Centre on Brimley Road, ending at Lawrence Avenue East and Brimley Road at about 5:30 p.m. More information is available by calling 416-396-4069.

A free fireworks display at Milliken Park will begin at dusk. More information is available by calling 416-396-7757.

North
The Old Style Community Picnic will be held at the Broadlands Community Centre and Park, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Activities include face painting, games, clown entertainment and folk singing. More information is available by calling 416-395-7966.

South and Central
The annual Canada Day fireworks display at Ashbridges Bay will begin at 10 p.m. on July 1. Residents who are planning to attend are encouraged to leave personal vehicles at home and use public transit.

East York’s 57th annual Canada Day parade with marching bands at Dieppe Park will start at 10 a.m. and move east to Stan Wadlow Park, where the motorcade is scheduled to finish at noon.

The celebrations at Stan Wadlow Park will take place from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and include live entertainment and a display of antique cars. The Kiwanis Pool will be open from noon to 7 p.m. The fireworks display will start at 10:15 p.m. and the park will close at 11 p.m.

West
The 15th annual Toronto Ribfest will be held at Centennial Park from June 27 to July 1, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, with 16 professional ribbers, live music and midway rides. On Canada Day there will be a fireworks display at 10 p.m. More information is available athttp://www.torontoribfest.com.

The annual Canada Day event at Amesbury Park will start at 11 a.m. Activities include a barbecue, live entertainment, marketplace, strongman competition and activities for children, plus fireworks at 10 p.m. More information is available athttp://www.amesburycanadaday.ca.

Reminder: Members of the public are not allowed to light fireworks or consume alcohol in City of Toronto parks. More information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/parks.

Swimming, parks and community centres
City of Toronto parks, outdoor swimming pools, wading pools and splash pads will all be open on Canada Day. Indoor pools and community centres will be closed on Canada Day. More information and swimming pool schedules are available athttp://www.toronto.ca/swim. Water quality reports for local beaches are available at http://www.toronto.ca/health/swimsafe/index.htm.

Golf
All five City golf courses will be open and offer holiday rates on July 1. More information about hours and location is available athttp://www.toronto.ca/golf.

Historic Sites
Several of the City's 11 historic sites will be open and offer Canada Day programming as follows:

Colborne Lodge:
Colborne will have an information and activity table from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. during the Canada Day celebration in High Park hosted by Peggy Nash, MP for Parkdale-High Park. Additionally, Colborne Lodge will be open to visitors for tours from noon to 5 p.m. Regular admission applies.

Fort York:
Fort York is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fort's Summer Guard will kick off the season by performing musket and artillery drills, including fife and drum music. Concerts will be presented by world music ensemble Lalun, Taylor Ho Bynum and Tomas Fujiwara, and Tethera. Admission is free. Families can also enjoy face painting, rocket-making workshops, and hula-hooping. The Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies presents the Tour for Humanity educational experience. The Canadian Armed Forces Afghanistan Memorial Vigil will be on site inside the Blue Barracks. Fort York Canada Day temporary tattoos and Canadian flags will be available.

Mackenzie House:
Mackenzie House is open from noon to 5 p.m. In the printshop participants will learn about the role of the media in Confederation and print a Canada Day souvenir using a 19th century printing press. Regular admission applies.

Montgomery's Inn:
The inn will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors can take part in guided tours and visit the inn for tea and Inn-made strawberry ice cream, and strawberry rhubarb compote on shortcake with whipped cream and a fresh berry in the tea room. Admission, $10 plus tax, includes a tour.

Scarborough Museum:
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can play croquet, take part in a pie-eating contest, sample treats from historic recipes, pick up a Canadian flag and enjoy a piece of Happy Birthday Canada cake.

Spadina Museum Historic House and Gardens:
The museum is open from noon to 5 p.m. and will feature a themed tour, Meet the Austins: A Toronto Family Between the Wars, at various times. Visitors will see the history of Toronto through the eyes of the Austin family, whose members made what is now Spadina Museum their home. Regular admission applies.

Todmorden Mills:
Todmorden Mills will be involved in the Canada Day celebrations at Stan Wadlow Park. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The public will learn about Todmorden's connections to the history of East York, see a collection of 19th-century toys and create a take-home craft.

And "weekend and Canada Day events with road closures in Toronto after the jump.Several special events in Toronto this weekend and on Canada Day, July 1, involve road closures. Residents and visitors are encouraged to come out and enjoy these events. Businesses in the areas affected are open to pedestrian traffic while some roads will be closed to vehicles.

Festivals and other special events are important to the city, injecting hundreds of millions of dollars annually into Toronto’s economy, and they are enjoyed each year by local residents.

In addition to road closures related to special events, a significant amount of road work is taking place in the city. People are encouraged to take public transit as a greener, faster and more affordable way of getting to their destinations.

Those who need to drive in the general vicinity of special events should allow extra time to get to and from their destination. More information and a complete list of events and road work are available at http://www.toronto.ca/torontostreets/. More information about the City's planned capital construction work is available at http://www.toronto.ca/inview.

Pride Week FestivitiesChurch Street Pride Festival: June 27 to 30Church Street from Carlton Street to Hayden Street will be closed from Friday, June 27 at 3 p.m. to Monday, June 30 at 7 a.m.

Pride and Remembrance Run: Saturday, June 28Wellesley Street from Jarvis Street to and including Queen's Park Circle will be closed on Saturday, June 28 from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Dyke March: Saturday, June 28The Dyke March will start at Carlton Street between Jarvis and Sherbourne, run west along Carlton Street to Yonge Street, run north on Yonge Street to Charles Street East, and east on Charles Street East to George Hislop parkette. The march is from 2 to 4 p.m. Roads used for the march will be closed between 1 and 5 p.m.

Pride Parade: Sunday, June 29The formation area for the Pride Parade will be at Rosedale Valley Road from Bayview Avenue to Park Road, with lane restrictions on Bayview Avenue to accommodate the formation of the parade. The parade will start at Church Street and Bloor Street East, run west on Bloor Street East to Yonge Street, south on Yonge Street to Dundas Street, and back to the festival on Church Street. The parade is from2 to 6:30 p.m. Roads on the parade route will be closed for varying periods between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Canada Day Celebration at Queen’s ParkQueen’s Park/Queen’s Park Circle from College Street to Hoskin Avenue will be closed on Tuesday, July 1 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Canada Day Parade in ScarboroughBrimley Road will be closed from Progress Avenue to Ellesmere Road from 1:30 to 6 p.m., and from Ellesmere Road to Lawrence Avenue from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1. Ellesmere Road will be closed from Midland Avenue to McCowan Road from 4 to 5 p.m.

Canada Day Celebrations at Mel Lastman SquareThe southbound lanes of Yonge Street from North York Boulevard to Park Home Avenue will be closed on Tuesday, July 1 from noon to 11 p.m. A full closure of Yonge Street within that block will be closed on July 1 from 7 to 11 p.m."

Doors Open

Scarborough Bluffs

Pride

Redball

Beaches

Graffiti

Lake Ontario

Nathan Phillips Square

Transportation

Toronto Blogger: About Me

Covering the adventure and excitement of life, sports, entertainment and more in Canada's largest city - with over 41+ million content views, 6.8m flickr views and over 1.7 million YouTube views ... Join me as I explore the streets and venues that are found in our beautiful metropolitan community.